European showcase event series resurrected for the launch of Xbox 360. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Xbox VP Peter Moore has confirmed that Microsoft is planning to run a European showcase event once again this year, where it will present its Xbox and Xbox 360 line-up.
As yet, it's not known where or when X05 will be held, or whether an equivalent event will run in other territories.
' Wired.com posted a very interesting article about J Allard, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President and Chief XNA™ Architect, and Xbox project a few days ago '
Allard is all about uphill climbs. He helped drive Microsoft's entry into the Internet arena in 1994 and, in 1999, persuaded Bill Gates to build a videogame console and take on the powerhouse of the gaming business, Sony. Now, after a six-year ascent, Allard claims he can finally see the crest of the hill.
Goldman Sachs expects the Home and Entertainment division of Microsoft to break even at the end of fiscal 2007. The research outfit said that this "will depend on competitive pricing by Sony, but we feel this is probably about right, resulting in the elimination of about a 5% drag on overall Microsoft earnings."
Goldman Sachs expects Microsoft will move approximately 3 million Xbox 360 units in the December quarter, "with demand exceeding supply". Goldman noted that the console could be sold at a retail price that is more than it had expected.
' BetaNews.com got a demonstrated behind closed doors of the Xbox 360 user interface '
The Dashboard, which can be customized using themes, offers access to four main panels: System, Games, Media and Xbox Live.
System contains standard configuration options for the Xbox 360, including linking up with network devices and setting parental controls.
The action starts from the Games panel, which displays the user's GamerCard containing their reputation, Gamerscore and Zone.
' Pictures have been released showing the Xbox360 game demos at E3 are running on Apple Powermac G5s '
Each kiosk had a wired Xbox 360 controller connected to it, running into the base of the kiosk that only had one small window showing off a Xbox 360 console.
But the console itself wasn't on, looking at the right of the kiosk you get to see the actual power behind the demos:
A pair of Apple Powermac G5 systems were actually running the Xbox 360 demos, not the 360 console. The consoles in the kiosks weren't actually running, they were just for show - now you know why all the controllers were wired.
' Unlike what several news-sources reported earlier, Major Nelson (alias Larry Hryb, the Xbox Live Director of Programming) posted on his blog Xbox top-titles will work directly on Xbox360 (emulated) - no recompiling needed '
Ok, let’s stop this right now. There is some serious wrong information floating around, so I need to clear this up. I grabbed my favorite PR dudes, and they are saying what I was telling a few of you in email:
“We’re not sure where this came from, and is incorrect. At launch, Xbox 360 will be backward compatible with the top Xbox games. Our goal is to have every Xbox game work on Xbox 360. You will NOT need to purchase a new ‘version’ — your original games will work on Xbox 360.”